PRO Chess League - Week 5 Recap + Week 6 Preview!
The San Jose Hackers (3-2) bounced back with a huge win over the Budapest Gambit (3-2) last Saturday in Week 5 of the PRO Chess League. This was a hugely important win for the Hackers, as we kept our playoff hopes very much alive in the Pacific Division.
The match was very close and tied 4-4 after the first two rounds. Then the Hackers pulled ahead 2.5-1.5 thanks to a clean win by GM Cristian Chirila over FM Andras Orosz:
This meant the hackers just needed to hold the last round in order to win the match. We ended up winning 2.5-1.5 again, thanks to a beautiful combination by NM Ivan Ke, to essentially clinch the match:
With a final score of 9-7, the Hackers won an important match. Unfortunately, due to internet connection issues, we weren't able to broadcast live coverage as usual. But we were able to follow the games live with over a dozen of regular Bay Area Chess Team Members, as you can see here:
IM Kostya showing some key variations in this tense match. Also pictured: SJ Hackers NM Teemu Virtanen & NM Christopher Yoo
Today, the Hackers will be using the same lineup to take on the Las Vegas Desert Rats, a powerful team competing with us for one of the coveted playoff spots. I will be doing live commentary of the match on Twitch, starting at 6:50 PM Pacific time.
Here are this week's lineups:
| San Jose Hackers | Las Vegas Desert Rats |
| GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | GM Timur Gareev |
| GM Daniel Naroditsky | GM Kayden Troff |
| GM Cristian Chirila | GM Jacek Stopa |
| NM Ivan Ke | FM Elliot Liu |
Wish us luck and make sure to tune into the live coverage!
The San Jose Hackers are a professional chess team in the Pacific Division of the PRO Chess League, sponsored by Bay Area Chess. To connect with the Hackers, please visit our Facebook, Twitter, and Official Site.
